AS FOR THE REST...

This
manual is not intended to answer all questions that both teacher and
pupil may raise. In fact,
it covers only a few of the more obvious ones, in terms of a brief
summary of some of the major concepts in the text and workbook.
It is not a substitute for either, but merely a supplement.
While it is called a manual for teachers, it must be remembered
that only time divides teacher and pupil, so that the difference is
temporary by definition. In
some cases, it may be helpful for the pupil to read the manual first.
Others might do better to begin with the workbook.
Still others may need to start at the more abstract level of the
text.

Which is for
which? Who would profit
more from prayers alone? Who
needs but a smile, being as yet unready for more?
No one should attempt to answer these questions alone.Surely no teacher of God has come this far without realizing
that. The curriculum is
highly individualized, and all aspects are under the Holy Spirit's
particular care and guidance. Ask
and He will answer. The
responsibility is His, and He alone is fit to assume it.
To do so is His function. To
refer the questions to Him is yours.
Would you want to be responsible for decisions about which you
understand so little? Be
glad you have a Teacher Who cannot make a mistake.
His answers are always right.
Would you say that of yours?

There is
another advantage, - and a very important one, - in referring decisions
to the Holy Spirit with increasing frequency.
Perhaps you have not thought of this aspect, but its centrality
is obvious. To follow the
Holy Spirit's guidance is to let yourself be absolved of guilt.It is the essence of the Atonement.It is the core of the curriculum.The imagined usurping of functions not your own is the basis
of fear. The whole world
you see reflects the illusion that you have done so, making fear
inevitable. To return the
function to the One to Whom it belongs is thus the escape from fear.
And it is this that lets the memory of love return to you.
Do not, then, think that following the Holy Spirit's guidance is
necessary merely because of your own inadequacies.
It is the way out of hell for you.

Here again
is the paradox often referred to in the course.To say, "Of myself I can do nothing" is to gain all
power. And yet it is but a
seeming paradox. As God
created you, you have all
power. The image you made
of yourself has none. The
Holy Spirit knows the truth about you.
The image you made does not.
Yet, despite its obvious and complete ignorance, this image
assumes it knows all things because you have given that belief to it.
Such is your teaching, and the teaching of the world that was
made to uphold it. But the
Teacher Who knows the truth has not forgotten it.
His decisions bring benefit to all, being wholly devoid of
attack. And therefore
incapable of arousing guilt.

Who assumes
a power that he does not possess is deceiving himself.
Yet to accept the power given him by God is but to acknowledge
his Creator and accept His gifts.And His gifts have no limit.
To ask the Holy Spirit to decide for you is simply to accept your
true inheritance. Does this
mean that you cannot say anything without consulting Him?
No, indeed! That
would hardly be practical, and it is the practical with which this
course is most concerned. If
you have made it a habit to ask for help when and where you can, you can
be confident that wisdom will be given you when you need it.
Prepare for this each morning, remember God when you can
throughout the day, ask the Holy Spirit's help when it is feasible to do
so, and thank Him for His guidance at night.
And your confidence will be well founded indeed.

Never forget
that the Holy Spirit does not depend on your words.
He understands the requests of your heart, and answers them.
Does this mean that, while attack remains attractive to you, He
will respond with evil? Hardly!
For God has given Him the power to translate your prayers of the
heart into His language. He
understands that an attack is a call for help.
And He responds with help accordingly.
God would be cruel if He let your words replace His Own.A loving father does not let his child harm himself, or
choose his own destruction. He
may ask for injury, but his father will protect him still.
And how much more than this does your Father love His Son?

Remember you
are His completion and His Love. Remember
your weakness is His strength. But
do not read this hastily or wrongly.If His strength is in you, what you perceive as your weakness
is but illusion. And He has
given you the means to prove it so.
Ask all things of His Teacher, and all things are given you.
Not in the future but immediately; now.
God does not wait, for waiting implies time and He is timeless.
Forget your foolish images, your sense of frailty and your fear
of harm, your dreams of danger and selected "wrongs".
God knows but His Son, and as he was created so he is.
In confidence I place you in His Hands, and I give thanks for you
that this is so.